People have long tried to make the Bible seem less long. In addition to the Brick Testament's painstaking recreation of Bible stories with Legos, Brad Neely created a hilarious animated video for Genesis 19: "Long ago, there were these two awful towns, Sodom, named after sodomy, and Gomorrah, which was named after an even weirder move."

Following in these facetious footsteps, The Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival is presenting The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged). The play is described as "an affectionate, irreverent roller coaster ride from fig leaves to Final Judgment as three comic actors tackle the great theological questions: Did Adam and Eve have navels? Did Moses really look like Charlton Heston? And why isn't the word 'phonetic' spelled the way it sounds?"

The Bible stars Steve D'Smith, Will Hemmings and Matt Gorby and runs through Wednesday, Aug. 22, at NexStage Theatre in Ketchum, 120 S. Main St. Tickets are $15 or FREE for children younger than 12.

And speaking of the heavenly realm, the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance is preparing to unveil a new exhibit, Sliver Linings, that interprets the saying, "every cloud has a silver lining." An opening reception for the show will take place Friday, Aug. 17, from 5-8 p.m. at the Boise State Public Radio offices, 220 E. Parkcenter Blvd. The show will be open for viewing weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Thursday, Oct. 25. For more info, email info@treasurevalleyartistsalliance.org.

Moving from a silver lining to silver coins, the City of Meridian is currently seeking proposals for the Meridian Split Corridor Phase Two Public Art Project, which has a $75,000 budget. Artwork "must promote environmental responsibility and sustainability, particularly as to recycling efforts and wise use of energy and other resources, and should incorporate recycled, reused or repurposed materials." For the first stage of the project, the city is inviting artists to submit general qualifications for design, fabrication and installation by 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10. In the second stage, up to three finalists will be asked to submit proposals. For more info, contact Emily Kane at ekane@meridiancity.org.

And in other call-to-artists news, the College of Western IdahoArt Department is seeking applications for its Visiting Artist program. One fall semester artist and one spring semester artist will present a public lecture, teach a workshop and hold studio critiques with art students. Selected artists will be paid $500 for the three-day program. For more info, contact Brenda Fisher at brendafisher@cwidaho.cc.